PHYSICAL SCIENCE

MODULE
E0801

THERMIONIC EMISSION

NAME:

CLASS:
Return by:
Theory
Practical
Applications
Research
TOTAL:

45
25
30
50
150

Hillcrest High School, Private Bag 1012, Hillcrest, 3650

All rights reserved. This module or portions thereof may not be reproduced
by any means without the school's permission.

THERMIONIC EMISSION

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Objectives
On completion of this module you should be able to:
1.
2.
3.
4.

define thermionic emission;

explain the operation of a simple thermionic diode;
define and understand the terminology relating to thermionic diodes;
describe some of the modern applications of thermionic diodes and electron guns.

Tasks
1. Answer the questions in the Theory section of this module before doing the practical work.
The questions are intended to develop your knowledge and understanding of the basic
concepts in thermionic emission.
2. Complete the Practical section.
3. Complete the Applications section.
4. You will have to research the answers to the questions in this module.
Resources and Supportive Material
1. Videos:

Thermionic Emission
The Cathode Ray Oscilloscope

2. Computer: The Way Things Work (CD)

Encarta 95 / 96 (CD)
Infopedia (CD)
The New Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia (CD)
Bookshelf 95 (CD)
Electricity & Magnetism (CD)
Encyclopedia of Science (CD)
Guidelines
1. You have two weeks from the date of receipt to complete this module.
2. Half your raw score for this module will be added to your term marks if the module is
completed by the due date. Failure to meet the deadline will result in your score not
counting towards your term mark.
3. Since this is an extension module it is important that your core modules have priority over
this one. Make sure that you have understood and completed the work in your current
core module before attempting this module.

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THEORY
1.

What is thermionic emission? _____________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________ [3]

2.

Give an alternative name for thermionic emission and explain its origin.
_____________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________ [3]

3.

What is an electrode? ___________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________ [3]

4.

Draw and label a sketch of a simple thermionic diode.

[5]
5.

Explain what is meant by (a) a directly heated cathode and (b) an indirectly heated
cathode.
_____________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________ [4]

6.

Will an electric current flow through the thermionic diode if the cathode is not heated?
Explain your answer.
_____________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________ [3]

7.

What is the name of the second, unheated electrode? ________________________ [1]

THERMIONIC EMISSION
8.

Page 4

Will an electric current flow through the thermionic diode if the cathode is heated but
there is no potential difference between the two electrodes? Explain your answer.
_____________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________ [3]

9.

Under what two conditions will a current flow through a thermionic diode?
_____________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________ [4]

10.

What, other than supply voltage, limits the maximum current flowing through the
thermionic diode? Explain your answer.
_____________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________ [3]

11.

What is the name for the maximum current mentioned in 10 above?

__________________________________________________________________ [1]

12.

Suggest a way of increasing this current without increasing the potential difference
between the electrodes.
_____________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________ [3]

13.

Why is a thermionic diode often referred to as a thermionic valve?

_____________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________ [3]

14.

Suggest why is it necessary to evacuate the space inside a thermionic diode.

_____________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________ [3]

15.

What is the most important characteristic of a thermionic diode?

__________________________________________________________________ [3]
[45]

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PRACTICAL
AIM: To determine the characteristics of a thermionic diode.
APPARATUS:
One 15 V d.c. supply; one 5 V d.c. supply; one EZ80 vacuum tube and base (with built-in
variable resistor); two d.c. voltmeters; one d.c. ammeter; variable resistor; connecting leads.
CIRCUIT DIAGRAM:

A
+
15 V max.
-

RH

V
V

PROCEDURE:
1.

Construct the above circuit and ask your teacher to check it before switching it on.

2.

Use the heater circuit's built-in variable resistor RH to adjust the heater voltage to 2 V
d.c.

3.

Adjust the potential difference across the diode to 2 V d.c. using the second variable
resistor.

4.

Record the ammeter and voltmeter readings for the plate circuit.

5.

Increase the potential difference across the fixed resistor to 4 V d.c. and repeat step 4.

6.

Continue increasing the voltage by about 2 V until a maximum of 15 V is reached.

Record your ammeter and voltmeter readings each time.

7.

Adjust the heater voltage to 3 V d.c. and repeat steps 3 to 6.

8.

Plot your results on the same set of axes, with potential difference on the x-axis and
current strength on the y-axis. Link your data points smoothly.
RESULTS:

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Table 1: P.d. versus I for two different cathode temperatures (See Graph 1)
LOW CATHODE TEMPERATURE
(2 V ACROSS HEATER)
RESISTOR
PLATE
VOLTAGE / V
CURRENT / mA

HIGH CATHODE TEMPERATURE

(3 V ACROSS HEATER)
RESISTOR
PLATE CURRENT
VOLTAGE / V
/ mA

[15]
CONCLUSIONS:
1.

Is a thermionic diode an ohmic conductor? Explain your answer.

_____________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________ [3]

2.

What are the saturation currents for the two different heater settings?
_____________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________ [4]

3.

What is the relationship between the strength of the thermionic current and the cathode
temperature?
_____________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________ [3]
[25]

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APPLICATIONS
1.

Suggest why it takes old valve radios a few seconds to start playing music, etc. after
being switched on.
_____________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________ [2]

2.

An alternative device to the thermionic diode is the semiconductor diode. Describe the
main differences between the two diodes, and explain very briefly how the
semiconductor type works.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________ [5]

3.

List some of the main disadvantages of thermionic diodes compared with

semiconductor diodes.
_____________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________ [3]

4.

What is one of the main applications of thermionic and semiconductor diodes?

_____________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________ [3]

5.

Draw the circuit diagram for the diode circuit used to achieve full-wave rectification of
alternating current. This may be a bridge rectifier or a triode circuit.

[5]

THERMIONIC EMISSION
6.

Page 8

Draw a fully-labelled sketch of a cathode ray tube. Alternatively, you may print a
suitable diagram from a multimedia CD and paste it here.

[7]
7.

Briefly describe the operation of a cathode ray tube.

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________ [3]

8.

Where are cathode ray tubes used?

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________ [2]
[30]

THERMIONIC EMISSION

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RESEARCH
You are required to research one of the following topics. Make your choice and report it to
your teacher for verification. Your research should be summarised in the form of a report of
about 1 000 words. Remember to run an English (UK / International) spelling check, title
your research and record your word count. Also ensure that you record the details of all your
reference materials in a bibliography as follows: Author (Surname and Initial). "Title",
Publisher, Year.
1.

Research the history of the development of television.

2.

Find out about the use of cathode ray tubes (CRTs) in the "glass" cockpits of modern
aircraft. What are their advantages and why are they now so popular?

3.

Describe the construction and operation of a colour television set.

4.

Describe the construction, operation and use of a CRT oscilloscope.

5.

Although CRTs are the most common type of monitor used in the computer industry,
lap-tops employ liquid crystal displays (LCDs) similar to those in calculators. Find out
how these work, and try to establish whether they are likely to supersede CRTs as the
standard television display.
[50]